NOCN wins 'Awarding Body of the Year' at Diversity Awards

27th January 2016 Date of publication

Leading awarding and assessment organisation NOCN was successful at the recent National Centre for Diversity Grand Awards in Birmingham, winning ‘Awarding Body of the Year’ and ranking in the NCFD Diversity Top 100.

NOCN was the first awarding organisation in the country to be recognised as a Leader in Diversity and it remains committed to improving equality, diversity and inclusivity (EDI) for everyone. It currently holds a Leaders in Diversity accreditation and delivers an annual EDI strategy lead by Managing Director Graham Hasting-Evans.

The Event at the ICC in Birmingham on 20 January 2016 was attended by over 100 representatives from charities, employers, colleges, schools and organisations who are all passionate about diversity. Throughout the evening there were many inspiring stories of achievement and examples of excellence which demonstrated the importance of improving diversity.

Graham Hasting-Evans said afterwards: “We are all incredibly proud of winning ‘Awarding Body or the Year’ it means so much and I personally see it as recognition of all the hard work done by NOCN over the years. Improving the diversity of our employees and customers is the right thing to do because it increases access to learning opportunities, but it is also good for business because it attracts new customers.”

As well as receiving NOCN’s award, Graham Hasting-Evans presented three awards: The Most Inspiring Individual of the Year, won jointly by Stewart McKillop, South Lanarkshire College and Tim Eyton-Jones, Barnfield College; Principal of the Year, Mohammed Ramzan; and College of the Year, Trelor Trust.

NOCN Marketing Executive James Harkness was also nominated for the Most Inspiring Individual of the Year award in recognition of his work promoting diversity at NOCN. Although eventually unsuccessful, the nomination shows a clear commitment to diversity.

James said: “Diversity is central to NOCN’s brand. We are all about creating opportunities for everyone so our products are designed to meet the needs of as wide an audience as possible. Education improves employment prospects and personal wellbeing and NOCN believes everyone, no matter who they are, deserves a happy, fulfilling life.”

NOCN has created a Flikr photo galleryof the event and you can read more about NOCN’s work on Inclusion, Diversity and Inclusion here.